City Islanders, Richmond to collide yet again Friday night in central Virginia

Maybe it's a positive thing the
Harrisburg City Islanders are going to spend some time on the USL PRO road.

Get everything sorted out after a
disappointing loss.

Strengthen bonds with your teammates,
especially the youngsters still growing accustomed to life as a professional
soccer player.

Most importantly, have a good time.

Bill Becher, shown here, will be trying to pilot the Harrisburg City Islanders to just their second regular-season victory in Richmond when the USL PRO sides meet Friday night at City Stadium.Patriot-News file

And while the City Islanders are about
to open a ridiculously challenging three-game road trip Friday night in
Richmond, at the same time Bill Becher's club will be attempting to erase the
sour memories left over from Tuesday's 1-0 loss to Reading United A.C. in the
second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

"We're such a good team off the field
that we enjoy going on the road," said City Islanders goalkeeper Nick Noble.

"It's a good time. We come together,
we've had some success on the road and we hope we can continue that. We know
Richmond's going to bring a good game and we're excited to play."

Excited to play last weekend when
league-leading Orlando bounced into Skyline Sports Complex and bounced out
following a 2-2 draw, the City Islanders didn't have the same energy level
Tuesday nor were they as effective against Reading United as they were days
earlier.

So, come Friday night, the City
Islanders will be in full rebound mode.

"Even though it wasn't a league game,
we still are coming off a loss," Becher said. "We're going to lose games, it's just
the nature of the league. You're not going to win every game.

Harrisburg City Islanders goalkeeper Nick Noble, shown here, will be trying to pitch his third shutout in four USL PRO games Friday night in Richmond.Patriot-News file

"But we want to limit that and we
don't want to go on any kind of streak with that. If we lose, we want to get
back on the winning side and put together another winning streak," Becher
added.

"That's our mentality going into it."

And understandably so.

"Obviously, we're disappointed about
our performance this last game, so we're looking to get back at it," Noble
said. "Our team, we've been in situations like this and we seem to rise to the
occasion a lot.

"It's not going to happen every time,
but we have a team that likes the big game, likes the big environment and I
hope we respond."

Just like last weekend, when Yann
Ekra's finish in the 72nd minute pulled the City Islanders (5-2-1
overall, 5-1-1 in USL PRO) into a 2-2 tie with Orlando. Sainey Touray had given
Harrisburg a 1-0 lead in the 17th, but two Dwyer goals pushed the
Lions in front.

Touray's 13 points (5 goals, 3
assists) tops the City Islanders, while Lucky Mkosana (3g, 1a), Cristhian
Hernandez (2g, 2a) and Ekra (2g, 1a) are next with seven, six and five points,
respectively.

Noble, who had a scoreless streak of
255 minutes snapped by Orlando, has gone the distance in all seven starts thus
far. He's posted a 5-1-1 record with a 1.00 goals-against and 30 saves.

The City Islanders also will begin
Friday night's game at Richmond with a
perfect 3-0-0 league mark away from Skyline.

Journeys to Charleston and Charlotte
will follow Friday night's scrap. All three teams sit in the top half of the
USL PRO standings.

So does Becher's club.

"We've got a tough three-game stretch,
that's for sure," Becher said.

A LOOK AT RICHMOND

One of two remaining unbeatens when
the week began – Charlotte's 2-2 draw Thursday night in Phoenix kept Mark
Steffens' Eagles unbeaten -- Leigh Cowlishaw's Kickers (5-0-3 overall, 4-0-3) are
in the middle of an eight-game USL PRO homestand.

That's right, eight games.

Although Cowlishaw's club opened the
2013 campaign with three games at City Stadium, Richmond blanked Wilmington 2-0
on the road (May 3) before drawing 3-3 with Charlotte a day later at home.

Since that draw with Charlotte,
Richmond has beaten Antigua (4-1) and drawn with Los Angeles (1-1).

"Richmond's a very good team, they
haven't lost yet," Becher said. "It's always a tough place to go, but we've had
some success there a few times and had a lot of ties.

"We won a championship there [in 2007]
and we won in 2011 there, so we've definitely gotten results. It's just not
easy."

Richmond Kickers goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale, shown denying the Harrisburg City Islanders' Tom Mellor during a game last season, has retired and given way to Andrew Dykstra.Patriot-News file

Becher's right.

The City Islanders have played 10
regular-season games at City Stadium since the Kickers landed in USL PRO prior
to the 2006 season, winning just one time.

They've recorded four draws.

Third in the league with 18 goals
scored – the City Islanders are fourth with 17 goals scored – Richmond's
finishes have been scattered among 10 players with former MLS standout Joseph
Ngwenya potting six.

The Kickers also have Jason Yeisley
and Matthew Delicate, a pair of physical horses, available up top.

Lots of balance. Lots of firepower.

Although Richmond may not have Dom
Dwyer running around up front, there are plenty of similarities to the high-octane
Orlando outfit that last weekend tied the City Islanders 2-2.

"It's good that we got a taste of what
it's going to be like playing against Orlando," Noble said. "They're pretty
similar. We've played them in years past and they've scored a bunch of goals –
and we've had success scoring goals as well.

"On my end I hope it's not a shootout,
but if we get in a shootout I just hope that we're the team that comes out on
top."

Although Richmond has conceded five
finishes in its last three USL PRO outings, Cowlishaw's Kickers do have veteran
keeper Andrew Dykstra as well as dependable center backs Henry Kalungi and
William Yomby parked in the middle of their defensive backfield.

Netminder Ronnie Pascale, who
tormented the City Islanders ever since Richmond arrived on the USL PRO scene,
has retired.

"They're going to be tough, there's no
doubt about that," Becher said.